Who's Behind You?
by ZareEraz
Summary: Fem!Watanuki/Doumeki. Watanuki's been plagued by spirits following her, her entire life compiled of experiences of being followed, the good and the bad. She's used to being alone since her parents died, she'd used to dealing with her problems alone, dealing with the spirits alone. But everything changes, even if she's not ready for it.


A/N: ZareEraz here! Just a disclaimer: I don't quite know all the details about Watanuki's parents, neither do I know everything about what I know about them. So for the story's sake we're pretending that they died when Watanuki was young and that she actually remembers some things about them, and that they were actually there with her, m'kay? So if I've gotten something wrong I ALREADY DISCLAIMED IT. Now we're all good! Enjoy!

Who's Behind You?

Ever since Watanuki was a little girl, she had always felt that tingling suspicion run up her spine, telling her that someone was behind her.

Her parents were the first ones behind her, walking slowly down the street as she ran ahead, shouting happily for them to hurry. They would always smile, looking at each other while holding hands and walked at the same pace. And Watanuki always had and choice: she could run to her father's hand or her mother's because at these times they wouldn't let go of each other's hand. She always kept it even, picking on hand to hold and then the other, chirping happily in child speak as they walked to the park or to the mall or just walked. She was safe with her parents, even if those weird, purpley shadows were following her (and they always were), floating at the edge of her vision.

But that all changed when they died. And there was little Watanuki in her elementary school uniform, buried in a sea of black suits and solemn faces, hands on her small shoulders as she tried not to cry anymore. She had cried so much already, she didn't want to cry anymore, but the tears wouldn't stop and she was so sad. She didn't understand why they were gone, she didn't understand that there would be not more walks to the park or cooking lessons as she stood on a stool on tip toe to see her father make delicious food. There would be no more goodnight kisses, good morning tickles or waves from the sidewalk on the way into school. There would be loneliness and empty rooms and silence. That's what she understood.

"Mama…Papa…" Watanuki whispered between sniffs, tears running down her cheeks. Hours passed like that, the black sea pushing and crashing against her small body until it was just the girl and the two tombstones.

And the spirit.

The girl knew what they were now the purple shadows on the edge of her vision were spirits, being from this world or others and they craved Watanuki's presence, her flesh. And she was alone this time, the shiver traveling up her spine, her body frozen. _It's behind me._ The small girl panicked, tears springing to her eyes again, only this time out of fear. The spirit was hovering above her, its presence twisting around her shoulder, her arms, and its thin yellow eyes staring her down as it faced her. Watanuki stared back, complete terror paralyzing her as the spirit's toothy mouth split into a wide grin. The teeth materialized, saliva and ooze dripping from its mouth and body. Watanuki flinched as the spirit's tongue flicked out, tasting her skin. Its mouth opened to swallow her, wanting to possess her, claim her, eat her. The spell was broken, her body unfroze as panic boiled over into irrational fear and she screamed. Trying to beat the insubstantial spirit away, Watanuki ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, wailing and crying. It followed her. They always did. Only this time she was alone on that gray day with two tombstones and coldness trailing behind her.

It was like that from then on. They always followed her, touching her, caressing. She'd scream and cry but no one could else could see what she could see. They couldn't understand. Her parents had believed her, they always believed her when she talked about the shadows following her. But no one else did. They'd never understand.

The adults called her difficult. Different. Troublesome. Awkward.

The children called her freak. Weirdo. Idiot. Stupid. Psycho.

Those words hurt a lot worse than the adult ones.

They stung and bit her heart, her soul and left her alone. No one wanted to be her friend, she was always by herself at the lunch table, and she never went to play at anyone's house. She was unwanted. The weirdo. The freak who screamed in class suddenly, the girl who'd pin herself to the ground, the one who'd flail around for no reason, making a ruckus and acting like a psychotic freak.

But they were always there, at the edge of her vision, stalking her in the street and coiling around her. Always behind her. The spirits were her only companions and they were the ones that were unwanted. She hated them, loathed them. They followed her, their presence isolating her from her peers, alienating her to the point where the only reason she went to school, went to be around other people was to get away from them because her empty apartment was worse than what she endured at school. She grew up like that, getting a year older alone, growing taller, prettier, but still alone.

She stopped screaming in class, her childish fear embarrassing, so Watanuki would just shut her mouth, ignore the spirit clinging to her shoulder, trying to act normal. In middle school she made some acquaintances, she was well liked, even if she never hung out with her acquaintances outside of school at least someone talked to her. She got good grades, learned to cook, spent a lot of time reading. She was still weird in the eyes of her peers, but she wasn't unapproachable. They could talk to her. She'd only flop to the ground and roll around every once in a while. She was nice, cute even.

But they were always there, wrapped around her legs, her back. They were always behind her, waiting for her to let her guard down and devour her.

That life changed as well. She met a witch and a fur ball and two girls weirder than her. Yuko smiled at her, offered her a job to grant her most precious wish – to get rid of the spirits plaguing her, to be normal. Watanuki worked and she worked hard, Yuko always behind her, asking for more food, nagging her work and occasionally praising and smiling at her. It was nice, to have friends (even if one of them was a rabbit). Watanuki had Wari, her long time crush from middle school. They talked, they laughed and it was nice. They became friends. Watanuki also got shackled to Doumeki, the irritating boy in her same class. She wished he'd go away, but Yuko wouldn't grant that wish.

Doumeki was one of those people who just didn't listen. She'd tell him to go away and he'd stay longer. She'd yell at him for taking advantage of her cooking and he'd just hold out his cup for more tea, a new request on his lips. She'd grumble at him to shut up, and he'd keep talking. She'd nag his personality and he'd just look at her with the emotionless face that she'd been nagging. She threaten him to stay away from Wari and he'd just plop down next to the other boy at lunch. It was downright infuriating. Watanuki wanted control over her life but there were four things she didn't have control over: the spirits who followed her, Yuko's eccentric personality and assistants, Wari's love and Doumeki. And the last one was by far the worst.

One day on the way home from school, Watanuki was fuming over her latest argument with Doumeki and had stomped out of the school without him. She stalked down the street, her annoyed mood radiating out from her so that even other pedestrians avoided her. She grumbled to herself about his stupid face, his stupid voice, his stupid requests for food and his stupid know-it-all-holier-than-thou personality. Watanuki was so distracted by her hissed rant that she didn't notice the new spirit until it was on top of her. The spirit pounced, pinning the girl to the ground in usual fashion and she yelped in surprise, letting go of her school bag and devolving into the routine of trying to struggle to her feet.

The spirit was heavy, its huge bulk holding the girl down no matter how hard she flailed and pushed against it. Watanuki cursed under her breath, just thankful that the few people who passed her just kept walking, a little faster than when they approached. She was used to this…the stares…the whispered comments and insults. It was normal for her. But it was still annoying, still hurtful. She growled at the people walking passed her and just wished she could disappear but then the spirit shifted and pushed her head into the ground. It just seemed to be lazing about, not really interesting in eating Watanuki right this second but now the seer could hardly breathe, her face pushed into the asphalt. Her glasses where scratched, her uniform dirty, her face hurting and all the girl could think of was disappearing. If she disappeared, then none of this would happen anymore. She could just not exist. And that would be fine at this point. She was tired of always being the freak, the outsider. Better to not exist forever than to be the outcast forever. A frustrated tear escaped Watanuki's eye as she gasped for breath, trying to hit the spirit's arms that were wrapping around her body, but it wasn't any use. Watanuki growled in defeat and just stopped moving, her arms aching from trying to get up, her face stinging from the asphalt, and her breath short from her crushed lungs.

And then, as suddenly as the spirit glommed onto her, it was gone, vanished from her back as it was warded off. Watanuki's head popped up as she grabbed gasps of air, her glasses sliding off her face and plinking to the ground as she did so. A familiar hand reached down and picked up her glasses, cleaning them on his shirt before kneeling down and helping the girl sit up. It was Doumeki, and he was handing the seer her glasses back, his eyes showing a shadow of concern and he supported his classmates back.

"Why are you here, asshole?" Watanuki snapped, still short of breath but never one to miss and opportunity to call her companion an asshole.

"I walk home this way."

"Well, whoop-de-freaking-do." Watanuki pushed against Doumeki and sat up on her own. He handed the girl her glasses as she tried to wipe her face off. Doumeki walked over to the park that was across the street and wetting his handkerchief at a water fountain, bringing back the damp cloth to wipe of Watanuki's face for her. She tried to do it herself by swiping the cloth, but Doumeki's huge hands dominated her face, the one on her cheek steadying her head and the other tenderly wiping the dirt off her skin. Watanuki just sat on the ground, holding her glasses in her lap. Doumeki was so soft and gentle with her as he cleaned her face, his eyes and hands steady as the girl blushed. She was still mad at him, but he'd saved her again so she didn't rant at him. They were silent for a few minutes, Watanuki sitting and blushing on the ground and Doumeki kneeling over her and wiping the girl's face. When he was done the handkerchief went away and Doumeki stood and reached out a hand to Watanuki. She took it and stood up, her head down to hide frustrated tears. Neither one of them moved.

She didn't want to rely on him for every spirit related problem, but he wouldn't leave her alone. She was used to being alone, but Doumeki wasn't letting her be. Instead, he was getting more and more annoying, constantly hanging around and being asked onto errands and jobs that Yuko sent Watanuki on. His presence was something that Watanuki wasn't used too, and yet, now it was a constant in her life and she wouldn't admit this to anyone, but she was unbearably sad when he wasn't around, but she still acted annoyed because that's what everyone expected her to do. Doumeki was the one solid thing in her life. Yuko was unpredictable and Wari wasn't getting any closer to Watanuki than just friends. Doumeki was always there. Except for today's walk home. He hadn't been there because she'd yelled at him and left him in the dust.

"I thought you weren't coming." Watanuki accused, her harsh voice losing its edge. She was just glad that Doumeki had walked up.

"I've got your back, Watanuki. I'm not going anywhere." The boy said seriously.

"You mean it?" Watanuki whispered thickly, the tears in her eyes threatening to fall. "I've been so alone for so long…nobody every stays. Will you stay?" She breathed, hardly daring to believe that someone was going to be with her, was going to stay even if she was weird.

"Forever." Doumeki reached down and took the girl's hand, squeezing it warmly. His free hand came up and caught her chin, tipping her head up to look at his. He stared into those teary blue eyes and gave Watanuki a rare smile. He tipped his head forward and chastely placed a soft kiss on her lips and then pulled back, squeezing her hand again. That's when the dam broke. Watanuki's eyes blinked and suddenly there were rivers of happy tears running down her face, the girl still trying to stifle her sobs. She shakily smiled back and wiped her eyes angrily, her contradicting personality working even in this moment of vulnerability.

"Come on! Yuko's probably expecting us!" Watanuki snapped, her normal mood pushing out her tears. She took a step in the direction of the shop but had to stop when her arm extended behind her and yanked her short. She looked back, her eyes glinting with annoyance. Doumeki was still holding her hand, standing behind her, solid and comforting. His smile was gone but she could tell he was happy, his golden eyes soft. _He's always been behind me, ever since we met. Why didn't I notice? Why didn't I notice that I loved him?_ Watanuki shook her head and smiled, pulling on Doumeki's arm and dragging him behind her as she nagged him for being a slow poke. He replied with a request for tempura for tomorrow's lunch, at which she blew up. But she never let go of his hand, finally able to rely on someone else. He was behind her, and that's all that mattered.

A/N: Aw! Cute fluff! :3 Don't forget to let me know what you think!


End file.
